Take the Easy Way Out
There’s no shame in a shortcut
Last weekend I had a long list of errands that I badly needed to run. It felt like I hadn’t been out of the house in days. My kids had been home from school sick with a stomach bug, and work was as busy as ever. And yet everything conspired against me leaving. My children wanted my attention for tasks they can absolutely accomplish themselves. I couldn’t find the packing tape to wrap the packages I needed to send. And when I finally exited my home, a few inches of snow had fallen, making it necessary for me to clean off the car, a task I hate for no particular reason.
I started the car and fired up the heat, defrosting the front and rear windshields while brushing snow off the spots the windshield wipers don’t reach. When I got in though, I realized that I hadn’t cleared snow off of the windows, resulting in a serious visibility problem. For some reason, in that moment, it seemed like an insurmountable task to put my gloves back on, get back out of the car and finish cleaning it off. So I took a shortcut and lowered each window and then raised it again, knocking the snow off in the process.
Yes, a little snow got in the car. No, this was not the most effective solution. But crucially, it got the job done. This is not just about my laziness; it’s about interrupting a historical narrative in my head, and…
